The Man Behind the Legend
by bioticsandheadshots
Summary: Kaidan Alenko is being inducted as the second human Spectre. Already nervous about following in the footsteps of the legendary John Shepard, Kaidan is confronted with the stark reminder that one should never meet their heroes.


**Author's Note:** A drabble (that kind of got out of hand) from sweet-ree on tumblr using the prompts "Well this social situation isn't going the way I acted it out in the shower" and "I'm actually pretty cool if you give me like 5 tries to get it right".

* * *

"Don't stress so much, Alenko." With a smirk, Tela slapped Kaidan's hands as he adjusted the knot of his tie for the fifth time since hailing their skycar.

Kaidan grumbled under his breath and tried to still his fidgeting fingers. The skycar whirred as they flew past the neon lights of Tayseri Ward, but Kaidan paid no mind to the dazzling sights of the Citadel. His stomach twisted too much to appreciate the view.

After months of being shadowed by Tela Vasir, his mentor for the Spectres, the galactic Council had approved her recommendation that Kaidan be inducted into the organization. Even though he'd expected it, had been training to prove his ability, now that the time for his initiation had come, Kaidan questioned whether he was truly ready. Becoming the second human Spectre was a big honor and an even bigger responsibility. There was a long line of dedicated and phenomenal Spectres that had come before him, none quite so famous as humanity's first.

Lt. Commander John Shepard was the Lion of Elysium, the man who had single-handedly held back enemy forces until reinforcements arrived to secure the colony. He'd come from nothing as an orphan on Earth and rose quickly through the Alliance ranks to become one of the youngest people to receive the Star of Terra, then gone on to achieve the coveted and rare N7 designation.

After making N7, Shepard disappeared, surfacing later with a human-centric shadow organization called Cerberus. Later, Shepard's involvement was revealed to be that of a deep undercover agent. The organization fell, unable to deny the proof Shepard brought forth. From detonating starships over human colonies to ensure the birth of biotic children to conducting torturous research in an attempt to create super soldiers, the group had conducted a multitude of abhorrent experiments. Jack Harper, leader of Cerberus, now awaited trial in a high security prison cell from which he insisted that he'd only done what was needed to help humanity achieve its rightful place in the galaxy.

The remnants of Cerberus hadn't taken their defeat lightly and, intent on inciting galactic war so humanity could claim the bones of what was left, they'd put a twofold plan into place. Using synthetic mind control they'd developed from an ancient alien life form, Cerberus directed a high profile turian agent to attack a human colony. Then they'd sent a secondary group of operatives to assassinate the galactic Council. Shepard's choice to save the Council at the expense of a human colony had earned him the title as humanity's first Spectre and taken him from Alliance poster boy to galactic household name.

Kaidan swallowed at the thought, reaching again to tug at his tie. The decision to make him a Spectre was humbling but, compared to Shepard, he was a no one. A simple Alliance man who trained biotics for spec ops missions. Sure, he had a few wins under his belt. He'd prevented the assassination of an Alliance chairman, subsequently talking down a group of biotic extremists and convincing them to surrender peacefully. Most recently, a spec ops drill had uncovered a plot by the Batarian Hegemony to launch an asteroid into a human colony. What started as a routine training exercise had turned into a harrowing mission, but they'd succeeded in saving the colony. Still, those were a blip on the radar compared to Shepard's service history.

In short, Shepard was a legend no one could hope to live up to. And was rumored to be attending the ceremony that night.

The skycar touched down in front of the Dilinaga Concert Hall, cutting Kaidan's musings short. Tela squeezed his shoulder with a grin, admonishing him not to embarrass her, before the door opened and they set off toward the entrance amid the bright flashes of camera drones and omni-tools.

Inside the ballroom, asari matriarchs mingled with turian generals. The gleaming rank of Alliance admirals sparkled under the lights and The Enkindler Anointed (a hanar bioluminescence entertainment group) set up on stage for their performance after the ceremony. Despite being the guest of honor, Kaidan's entrance went unnoticed and he and Tela made their way to front row unimpeded.

"Well, well, if it isn't the newest whelp." A tall turian, none other than Spectre Kryik, came to a stop beside them.

"Nihlus." Tela glared up at the other Spectre. "Where's Shepard? Getting shit faced as usual?"

The long-standing competition between Tela and Nihlus ran deep. Kaidan didn't know all the ins and outs of the rivalry, only that Tela had two failed nominees under her belt: one dead, the other preferring an easier, less complicated life thus turning down the apprenticeship. Nihlus, on the other hand, mentored Shepard, for which he still received a certain amount of praise that he often rubbed in Tela's face.

"Drunk _and_ blindfolded, Shepard's still more than a match for this one." Nihlus twitched his mandibles in amusement, not bothering to glance at Kaidan.

Kaidan chose not to be insulted. Nihlus probably had a point.

Instead, he excused himself and headed for the bar. One whiskey before the ceremony might help settle his nerves. The bartender poured a finger of golden liquor into a clear tumbler, then slid it down the bar. A hand, decidedly human, plucked it up before it could reach Kaidan. His eyes traveled over the fingers clasping _his_ glass, up an arm covered in an expensively tailored suit, and landed on the face of the first human Spectre.

A smirk dangled on the man's lips and blue eyes sparkled as John Shepard downed the whiskey in a single gulp. He slammed the glass back on the counter and extended his hand.

"John Shepard, but you probably already knew that."

Pushing his irritation aside, Kaidan smiled warmly and accepted Shepard's hand. He'd prepared for this moment after all. So he was horrified when he seemed to trip over his introduction. "Alenko. Kaidan, I mean. Major Kaidan," Kaidan's eyes widened as the more he spoke, the worse he stuttered over his own name. "Major Kaidan Alenko. I'm the—"

Shepard barked with a hearty laugh. "You're adorable all tongue-tied. Don't tell me you have my poster on your wall or something?"

As he tried, and failed, to come up with an appropriate response (because, no, he _didn_ _'t_ have a poster - did they make posters), Kaidan's mouth dropped open and closed like a fish out of water. Almost of their own accord, his fingers reached up and ran through his hair. At which point, Kaidan realized that Shepard still hadn't let go of his other hand.

And, as if the situation couldn't get any more awkward, Tela chose that moment to retrieve Kaidan to take his place on stage. When her eyes dropped to their clasped fingers, she pressed her lips together in amusement but, thankfully, didn't say anything other than that the Councilors were ready to begin.

"Well, this social situation isn't going the way I acted it out in the shower," Kaidan mumbled under his breath once they'd gone far enough to be out of Shepard's range of hearing.

Tela tilted her head in his direction, her smug look pulling up the corners of her blue lips. "Which part were you acting out in the shower? The ceremony? Or meeting Commander Shepard?"

Heat flushed over his cheeks and Kaidan increased his stride, leaving the laughing Spectre behind.

As the ceremony started, Kaidan tucked the botched introduction to the back of his mind and focused on the significance of the oath he was about to take. When the time came, he swore to be a protector of peace and defend the safety of the galaxy from any threat it might face. And, just like that, the ceremony was over.

The lights dimmed as The Enkindler Anointed began their set and music filled the room, low enough that the guests could still carry on conversations. Cocktail hour had begun and, if Kaidan had to guess, it was likely why _most_ people had shown up. No one threw a party quite like the Council.

"I'm proud of you, son."

"Dad!" Kaidan pivoted with a grin at his father's voice, surprised to see both his parents. "I didn't know you were coming."

His mother reached out and clasped his elbow with a warm smile. "Of course we're here. You didn't really think we'd miss it!"

"I know you've got a lot of people to talk to." Kaidan's father, a retired Alliance captain, had been to more than his fair share of events during the course of his career. "We'll be on the Citadel a few days. Go, celebrate. You deserve this. We'll get breakfast tomorrow morning."

Departing after they'd squeezed in a few more hugs (mostly his mother), Kaidan's parents disappeared in the crowd. Tela was off arguing with Nihlus in the corner, leaving Kaidan to his own devices. So, alone, he made the rounds, meeting and greeting all the officials that the councilors had deemed important enough to invite. Shepard's dislike for formal functions was well documented by the press so it was a surprise when Kaidan ended up face to face with him again.

"Well, hello again, Major Kaidan," Shepard said with a wink. "Or should I say Spectre Kaidan?"

The man just wasn't going to let it go. That old saying 'never meet your heroes' seemed tailored to this specific situation.

Closing his eyes for a second, Kaidan took a breath and smiled, refusing to be flustered. "Kaidan is fine."

"Kaidan it is. Well, _Kaidan_ ," Shepard's voice dropped a little low as he enunciated his name, "you ready to take on this responsibility?"

"You set the bar pretty high, but I'll do my best. It was nice to see you again, Commander, but if you'll excuse me…"

Kaidan stepped to the side, intending to go around Shepard and find someone—anyone—else to mingle with. In his rush to escape the awkward conversation, he jostled into a waiter with a tray full of drinks. Kaidan could only watch in horror as the waiter stumbled, spilling the contents down the front of Shepard's immaculate suit.

Shepard glanced down, his chiseled jaw tightening as the champagne soaked through his clothes. Steady hands loosened the buttons and he shrugged the jacket from his shoulders. The white dress shirt underneath hadn't been spared and the fabric clung to his torso, nearly transparent from the moisture. Kaidan's throat went dry as embarrassment and allure commingled at the sight.

Eyes finding Kaidan's from under his brows, one corner of Shepard's mouth rose with a smirk. "If you wanted to get me out of my clothes, all you had to do was ask."

 _That_ _'s it!_ Kaidan had had enough. Humanity's first Spectre was an arrogant ass and gave no thought to embarrassing Kaidan in front of the councilors or any of the other dignitaries he may need to work with in the future. It was time for the man to get a small taste of his own medicine.

"Are you flirting with me, Commander? Because if that's what you've been doing all night, you really need to work on your technique. I've seen elcor flirt better than this."

"Amused. We are much better at flirting than the Commander," Calyn, the elcor ambassador interjected.

Red raced up Shepard's face, visible through the faint 5 o'clock shadow that perpetually covered his jaw. Crossing his arms over his chest, he rocked back on one leg and opened his mouth to reply but seemed at just a loss for words as Kaidan had been earlier. Councilor Sparatus rumbled with laughter. In all their meetings and debriefs, Kaidan had never heard the turian councilor sound anything other than indifferent. Shepard jerked to glare at both Sparatus and Calyn and Kaidan chose that moment to slip away so he could nurse his humiliation alone at the bar.

He'd just finished his second drink when a presence settled itself onto the barstool at his side. Without looking up, Kaidan instinctively knew it was Shepard.

The man's voice confirmed his suspicions. "Kaidan…"

"Haven't you done enough?" Kaidan spared a glance out of the corner of his eye, finding that Shepard had covered his wet clothes with (or was maybe shirtless beneath) an N7 sweatshirt. Somehow, the combination of sweatshirt and tuxedo pants worked for him.

Shepard propped himself up at the bar on an elbow and dropped the back of his head into his hand. "I'm actually pretty cool if you give me, like, 5 tries to get it right."

Kaidan raised his eyebrows and frowned with disbelief into his empty glass but didn't bother arguing.

"Look, I'm sorry," Shepard continued, sounding sincere. "It's one thing being Commander Shepard, hero, lion, blah blah. I've gotten so used to him that sometimes it's hard just being John, meeting someone he admires."

At that, Kaidan did look up. "Me?"

"Who'd you think submitted your name to the Council?" Shepard's sly grin was back though, now that he was looking for it, Kaidan saw a tiny smidge of vulnerability. "Now, how about you let me buy you a drink and I'll tell you all about it."

So Kaidan let him. And Shepard did. And when he received a message from his parents about missing breakfast the next morning, Kaidan couldn't quite find it in him to be remorseful.


End file.
